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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Multiuser Collaboration with Networked Mobile Devices

In this paper we describe a multiuser collaboration infrastructure that enables multiple mission scientists to remotely and collaboratively interact with visualization and planning software, using wireless networked personal digital assistants(PDAs) and other mobile devices. During ground operations of planetary rover and lander missions, scientists need to meet daily to review downlinked data and plan science activities. For example, scientists use the Science Activity Planner (SAP) in the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission to visualize downlinked data and plan rover activities during the science meetings [1]. Computer displays are projected onto large screens in the meeting room to enable the scientists to view and discuss downlinked images and data displayed by SAP and other software applications. However, only one person can interact with the software applications because input to the computer is limited to a single mouse and keyboard. As a result, the scientists have to verbally express their intentions, such as selecting a target at a particular location on the Mars terrain image, to that person in order to interact with the applications. This constrains communication and limits the returns of science planning. Furthermore, ground operations for Mars missions are fundamentally constrained by the short turnaround time for science and engineering teams to process and analyze data, plan the next uplink, generate command sequences, and transmit the uplink to the vehicle [2]. Therefore, improving ground operations is crucial to the success of Mars missions. The multiuser collaboration infrastructure enables users to control software applications remotely and collaboratively using mobile devices. The infrastructure includes (1) human-computer interaction techniques to provide natural, fast, and accurate inputs, (2) a communications protocol to ensure reliable and efficient coordination of the input devices and host computers, (3) an application-independent middleware that maintains the states, sessions, and interactions of individual users of the software applications, (4) an application programming interface to enable tight integration of applications and the middleware. The infrastructure is able to support any software applications running under the Windows or Unix platforms. The resulting technologies not only are applicable to NASA mission operations, but also useful in other situations such as design reviews, brainstorming sessions, and business meetings, as they can benefit from having the participants concurrently interact with the software applications (e.g., presentation applications and CAD design tools) to illustrate their ideas and provide inputs.

ground operations↗
NASA NTRS1977

Assess 2: Spacelab simulation. Executive summary

An Airborne Science/Spacelab Experiments System Simulation (ASSESS II) mission, was conducted with the CV-990 airborne laboratory in May 1977. The project studied the full range of Spacelab-type activities including management interactions, experiment selection and funding, hardware development, payload integration and checkout, mission specialist and payload specialist selection and training, mission control center payload operations control center arrangements and interactions, real time interaction during flight between principal investigators and the flight crew, and retrieval of scientific flight data. ESA established an integration and coordination center for the ESA portion of the payload as planned for Spacelab. A strongly realistic Spacelab mission was conducted on the CV-990 aircraft. U.S. and ESA scientific experiments were integrated into a payload and flown over a 10 day period, with the payload flight crew fully-confined to represent a Spacelab mission. Specific conclusions for Spacelab planning are presented along with a brief explanation of each.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

Navigation simulator for the Space Tug vehicle

A general simulation program (GSP) for state estimation of a nonlinear space vehicle flight navigation system is developed and used as a basis for evaluating the performance of a Space Tug navigation system. An explanation of the iterative guidance mode (IGM) guidance law, derivation of the dynamics, coordinate frames and state estimation routines are given in order to clarify the assumptions and approximations made. A number of simulation and analytical studies are used to demonstrate the operation of the Tug system. Included in the simulation studies are (1) initial offset vector parameter study; (2) propagation time vs accuracy; (3) measurement noise parametric study and (4) reduction in computational burden of an on-board implementable scheme. From the results of these studies, conclusions and recommendations concerning future areas of practical and theoretical work are presented.

Colburn, B. K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Goldstone radio spectrum protection

Potential electromagnetic interference to the Goldstone tracking receivers due to neighboring military installations is discussed. Coordination of the military and NASA Goldstone activities in the Mojave Desert area is seen to be an effective method to protect the Goldstone radio spectrum while maintaining compatible operations for the military and Goldstone.

Gaudian, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Computational aspects of remapping digital imagery

One of the advantages of automated cartography is that map data stored in the digital computer can be plotted or displayed at any scale or projection by recomputing the coordinates of the data. This is especially easy in the case of vector (graphics) data but in the case of digital image (raster) data, remapping is a more difficult operation. Examples of the remapping of digital imagery would include rectification of a LANDSAT MSS to an orthographic or Mercator projection, warping of one image to register with another, or rotation, scale, or aspect changes of a digital image. Use of general purpose computers and array processors for this task will be covered. Data processing error will be discussed for each modelling/warping approach.

Zobrist, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Operational effectiveness of a Multiple Aquila Control System (MACS)

The operational effectiveness of a multiple aquila control system (MACS) was examined under a variety of remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) mission configurations. The set of assumptions and inputs used to form the rules under which a computerized simulation of MACS was run is given. The characteristics that are to govern MACS operations include: the battlefield environment that generates the requests for RPV missions, operating time-lines of the RPV-peculiar equipment, maintenance requirements, and vulnerability to enemy fire. The number of RPV missions and the number of operation days are discussed. Command, control, and communication data rates are estimated by determining how many messages are passed and what information is necessary in them to support ground coordination between MACS sections.

Brown, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Reactive system verification case study: Fault-tolerant transputer communication

A reactive program is one which engages in an ongoing interaction with its environment. A system which is controlled by an embedded reactive program is called a reactive system. Examples of reactive systems are aircraft flight management systems, bank automatic teller machine (ATM) networks, airline reservation systems, and computer operating systems. Reactive systems are often naturally modeled (for logical design purposes) as a composition of autonomous processes which progress concurrently and which communicate to share information and/or to coordinate activities. Formal (i.e., mathematical) frameworks for system verification are tools used to increase the users' confidence that a system design satisfies its specification. A framework for reactive system verification includes formal languages for system modeling and for behavior specification and decision procedures and/or proof-systems for verifying that the system model satisfies the system specifications. Using the Ostroff framework for reactive system verification, an approach to achieving fault-tolerant communication between transputers was shown to be effective. The key components of the design, the decoupler processes, may be viewed as discrete-event-controllers introduced to constrain system behavior such that system specifications are satisfied. The Ostroff framework was also effective. The expressiveness of the modeling language permitted construction of a faithful model of the transputer network. The relevant specifications were readily expressed in the specification language. The set of decision procedures provided was adequate to verify the specifications of interest. The need for improved support for system behavior visualization is emphasized.

Crane, D. Francis↗
NASA NTRS1993

A direct application of the non-linear inverse transformation flight control system design on a STOVL aircraft

The nonlinear inverse transformation flight control system design method is applied to the Lockheed Ft. Worth Company's E-7D short takeoff and vertical land (STOVL) supersonic fighter/attack aircraft design with a modified General Electric F110 engine which has augmented propulsive lift capability. The system is fully augmented to provide flight path control and velocity control, and rate command attitude hold for angular axes during the transition and hover operations. In cruise mode, the flight control system is configured to provide direct thrust command, rate command attitude hold for pitch and roll axes, and sideslip command with turn coordination. A control selector based on the nonlinear inverse transformation method is designed specifically to be compatible with the propulsion system's physical configuration which has a two dimensional convergent-divergent aft nozzle, a vectorable ventral nozzle, and a thrust augmented ejector. The nonlinear inverse transformation is used to determine the propulsive forces and nozzle deflections, which in combination with the aerodynamic forces and moments (including propulsive induced contributions), and gravitational force, are required to achieve the longitudinal and vertical acceleration commands. The longitudinal control axes are fully decoupled within the propulsion system's performance envelope. A piloted motion-base flight simulation was conducted on the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at NASA Ames Research Center to examine the handling qualities of this design. Based on results of the simulation, refinements to the control system have been made and will also be covered in the report.

Chung, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Integration and Test for Small Shuttle Payloads

Recommended approaches for shuttle small payload integration and test (I&T) are presented. The paper is intended for consideration by developers of small shuttle payloads, including I&T managers, project managers, and system engineers. Examples and lessons learned are presented based on the extensive history of the NASA's Hitchhiker project. All aspects of I&T are presented, including: (1) I&T team responsibilities, coordination, and communication; (2) Flight hardware handling practices; (3) Documentation and configuration management; (4) I&T considerations for payload development; (5) I&T at the development facility; (6) Prelaunch operations, transfer, orbiter integration, and interface testing; and (7) Postflight operations. This paper is of special interest to those payload projects which have small budgets and few resources: That is, the truly 'faster, cheaper, better' projects. All shuttle small payload developers are strongly encouraged to apply these guidelines during I&T planning and ground operations to take full advantage of today's limited resources and to help ensure mission success.

Wright, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Integration and Test of Shuttle Small Payloads

Recommended approaches for space shuttle small payload integration and test (I&T) are presented. The paper is intended for consideration by developers of shuttle small payloads, including I&T managers, project managers, and system engineers. Examples and lessons learned are presented based on the extensive history of NASA's Hitchhiker project. All aspects of I&T are presented, including: (1) I&T team responsibilities, coordination, and communication; (2) Flight hardware handling practices; (3) Documentation and configuration management; (4) I&T considerations for payload development; (5) I&T at the development facility; (6) Prelaunch operations, transfer, orbiter integration and interface testing; (7) Postflight operations. This paper is of special interest to those payload projects that have small budgets and few resources: that is, the truly faster, cheaper, better projects. All shuttle small payload developers are strongly encouraged to apply these guidelines during I&T planning and ground operations to take full advantage of today's limited resources and to help ensure mission success.

Wright, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Advanced Manufacturing at the Marshall Space Flight Center and Application to Ares I and Ares V Launch Vehicles

There are various aspects of advanced manufacturing technology development at the field centers of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been given the assignment to lead the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM) at MSFC and pursue advanced development and coordination with other federal agencies for NASA. There are significant activities at the Marshall Center as well as at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans which we operate in conjunction with the University of New Orleans. New manufacturing processes in metals processing, component development, welding operations, composite manufacturing and thermal protection system material and process development will be utilized in the manufacturing of the United States two new launch vehicles, the Ares I and the Ares V. An overview of NCAM will be presented as well as some of the development activities and manufacturing that are ongoing in Ares Upper Stage development. Some of the tools and equipment produced by Italian owned companies and their application in this work will be mentioned.

Carruth, Ralph↗
NASA NTRS2017

Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming to an Advanced Ground Station for Reduced Crew Operations

Within human factors there is burgeoning interest in the "human-autonomy teaming" (HAT) concept as a way to address the challenges of interacting with complex, increasingly autonomous systems. The HAT concept comes out of an aspiration to interact with increasingly autonomous systems as a team member, rather than simply use automation as a tool. The authors, and others, have proposed core tenets for HAT that include bi-directional communication, automation and system transparency, and advanced coordination between human and automated teammates via predefined, dynamic task sequences known as "plays." It is believed that, with proper implementation, HAT should foster appropriate teamwork, thus increasing trust and reliance on the system, which in turn will reduce workload, increase situation awareness, and improve performance. To this end, HAT has been demonstrated and/or studied in multiple applications including search and rescue operations, healthcare and medicine, autonomous vehicles, photography, and aviation. The current paper presents one such effort to apply HAT. It details the design of a HAT agent, developed by Human Automation Teaming Solutions, Inc., to facilitate teamwork between the automation and the human operator of an advanced ground dispatch station. This dispatch station was developed to support a NASA project investigating a concept called Reduced Crew Operations (RCO); consequently, we have named the agent R-HATS. Part of the RCO concept involves a ground operator providing enhanced support to a large number of aircraft with a single pilot on the flight deck. When assisted by R-HATS, operators can monitor and support or manage a large number of aircraft and use plays to respond in real-time to complicated, workload-intensive events (e.g., an airport closure). A play is a plan that encapsulates goals, tasks, and a task allocation strategy appropriate for a particular situation. In the current implementation, when a play is initiated by a user, R-HATS determines what tasks need to be completed and has the ability to autonomously execute them (e.g., determining diversion options and uplinking new routes to aircraft) when it is safe and appropriate. R-HATS has been designed to both support end users and researchers in RCO and HAT. Additionally, R-HATS and its underlying architecture were developed with generalizability in mind as a modular software applicable outside of RCO/aviation domains. This paper will also discuss future further development and testing of RHATS.

automation↗
NASA NTRS2022

Overview of NASA’s Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) Research

NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project introduced a new Air Traffic Management (ATM) architecture that utilizes industry’s ability to supply industry-developed, third-party services that work complementarily with the FAA-provided Air Traffic Service (ATS) to exchange relevant air vehicle information among the UAS operations and between the UTM and the conventional ATM system. The UTM architecture was used to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of safe, efficient, and scalable small UAS operations in low altitudes below 400 feet above ground level. Following the success and adoption of UTM architecture, the foundational UTM requirements and core properties were generalized to become Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) requirements to support operations of new entrants beyond small UAS, such as operations in high altitudes over 60,000 feet, designated as upper Class E in the United States National Airspace System (NAS). In this paper, the generalization of UTM to xTM and NASA’s approach for developing an xTM system for upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM) are discussed. The paper also discusses the planned research to examine the potential xTM-Air Traffic Control (ATC) interactions across multiple xTM systems and identify common coordination procedures, ATC roles/responsibilities, and data exchange requirements. This work is one of the steps for improving interoperability between the xTM systems and ATS, which is critical for safe and efficient sharing of the airspace among the new entrants served by the xTM systems and conventional ATS-serviced operations.

air traffic management↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of NASA’s Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) Work

NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project introduced a new Air Traffic Management (ATM) architecture that utilizes industry’s ability to supply industry-developed, third-party services that work complementarily with the FAA-provided Air Traffic Service (ATS) to exchange relevant air vehicle information among the UAS operations and between the UTM and the conventional ATM system. The UTM architecture was used to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of safe, efficient, and scalable small UAS operations in low altitudes below 400 feet above ground level. Following the success and adoption of UTM architecture, the foundational UTM requirements and core properties were generalized to become Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) requirements to support operations of new entrants beyond small UAS, such as operations in high altitudes over 60,000 feet, designated as upper Class E in the United States National Airspace System (NAS). In this paper, the generalization of UTM to xTM and NASA’s approach for developing an xTM system for upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM) are discussed. The paper also discusses the planned research to examine the potential xTM-Air Traffic Control (ATC) interactions across multiple xTM systems and identify common coordination procedures, ATC roles/responsibilities, and data exchange requirements. This work is one of the steps for improving interoperability between the xTM systems and ATS, which is critical for safe and efficient sharing of the airspace among the new entrants served by the xTM systems and conventional ATS-serviced operations.

air traffic management↗
NASA NTRS2011

Performance of the GLAS Space Lidar Receiver Through Its Seven-Year Space Mission

NASA s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission [1,2] carrying the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) Instrument, was launched on January 12, 2003. The three lasers on ICESat have made a total of 1.98 billion laser shot measurements of the Earth s surface and atmosphere during its 17 science data collection campaigns over its seven year operating lifetime. ICESat completed its science mission after the last laser stopped operating in October 2009. The spacecraft was de-orbited on August 30, 2010. The GLAS instrument carried 3 diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers, which emitted 6-nsec wide pulses at 1064 and 532 nm at a 40-Hz rate. There are three lidar receiver channels, a 1064 nm surface altimetry channel, a 1064 nm cloud backscattering lidar channel, and a 532 nm cloud and aerosol backscattering lidar channel. The altimetry and cloud backscatter channels used Si avalanche photodiode (APD) operated in analog mode as in the Mars Global Surveyor s Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter [3,4]. GLAS also utilized a number of new technologies and techniques for space lidar, including passively Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers, a 1-m diameter telescope, a temperature tuned etalon optical bandpass filter, Si APD single photon counting detectors, 1 Gsample/sec waveform digitizers, ultra stable clock oscillators, and digital signal processing and detection algorithms [5]. A global position system (GPS) receiver was used to provide the spacecraft position and epoch times. The ICESat mission provided a unique opportunity to monitor the lidar component performance in the space environment over a multi-year time period. We performed a number of engineering tests periodically to monitor the lidar receiver performance, including receiver sensitivity, timing precision, detector dark noise, etc. A series of engineering tests were also performed after the end of the science mission to evaluate the performance of the spare detector, oscillator, waveform digitizer, and GPS receiver. An experiment was conducted which pointed GLAS to Venus to test the receiver sensitivity to star light and to verify GLAS bore sight with respect to the spacecraft coordinate system. These tests provided unique data to assess the degradation and the rate of change of these key lidar components due to space radiation and aging. They also helped to validate new techniques to operate and calibrate future space lidars.

Sun, Xiaoli↗
NASA NTRS2001

On-Orbit Maintenance Operations Strategy for the International Space Station - Concept and Implementation

The International Space Station (ISS) has an operational mission and profile that makes it a Logistics and Maintenance (L&M) support challenge different from previous programs. It is permanently manned, assembled on orbit, and multi-national. With this technical and operational challenge, a unique approach is needed to support the hardware and crew. The key is the integration of on-orbit and ground analysis, supply, maintenance, and crew training into a coherent functional process that supports ISS goals and objectives. To integrate all the necessary aspects of hardware and personnel to support on-orbit maintenance, a myriad of products and processes must be created and coordinated, such that the right resources are in the right place at the right time to ensure continued ISS functionality. This paper will familiarize the audience with ISS On-Orbit Maintenance (OOM) concepts and capabilities for different maintenance tasks and discuss some of the logic behind their selection. It will also identify the operational maintenance support responsibility split between the U.S. and the various International Partners (IPs).

Patterson, Linda P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Pretest information for a test to validate plume simulation procedures (FA-17)

The results of an effort to plan a final verification wind tunnel test to validate the recommended correlation parameters and application techniques were presented. The test planning effort was complete except for test site finalization and the associated coordination. Two suitable test sites were identified. Desired test conditions were shown. Subsequent sections of this report present the selected model and test site, instrumentation of this model, planned test operations, and some concluding remarks.

Hair, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Airborne pressure and temperature measurements during the 1977 intertropical convergence zone experiment

During the 1977 ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) experiment in Panama two aircraft and numerous balloon-borne radiosonde instruments were equipped to measure pressure and temperature. The experiment was a coordinated effort to evaluate the meteorological conditions that prevailed from July 17 through 31, 1977. A critical analysis of the data collected on one of the aircraft (the Lear jet) operating at altitudes to 13,000 m for about 2 hr each day during most days of the experiment is presented. The discussion includes a comparison of the vertical profiles of potential temperature obtained from the Learjet with those obtained from balloons launched at Ft. Sherman. Time histories of pressure, temperature, and potential temperature, as observed from the Learjet are also presented.

Munoz, R. M.↗